Post and means to anchor it in the ground, for example to prevent the parking of vehicles

Abstract: Post (1) and means to anchor it in the ground, for example to prevent the parking of vehicles, resilient means (19) being present between the anchoring means and the post (1) so that the post can tilt a little when a horizontal force is applied thereon, such as by a colliding vehicle. The post (1) is hollow and contains a coil spring (19) the upper end of which is anchored to the post and the lower end to a horizontal plate (12) with a standing rim (15) that has been fittingly inserted in the lower end of the post.

Description: The invention relates to a post and means to anchor it in the ground, for example to prevent the parking of vehicles, resilient means being present between the anchoring means and the post so that from the vertical position the post can bring about a certain angular displacement when a force in approximately horizontal direction is applied thereon, such as by a vehicle colliding with it, and the post will return from this position to its vertical position once the force on the post has been removed. Such a post is known from NL-A-9102035. This known post is made of concrete and a reinforcement bar accommodated therein has at its lower end been connected to a cable. Said cable runs downward through a passage into a foundation block and has at its lower end been connected to a threaded end onto which a nut has been screwed. A strip, which is accommodated in a cavity of the block, rests upon the nut. Between the strip and the upper wall of the cavity, resilient means are located such as those in the shape of a rubber sleeve which is compressed between the upper wall and the strip. By turning the nut the elastic sleeve can be brought on the pre-stress desired. Such a construction is elaborate and heavy, as a result of which its manufacture and installation will be relatively expensive. As the resilient means are continually under strain, the resilient force produced by them will decrease in time. Readjustment of the desired strain can only be effected by excavating the entire foundation block. The resilient means being located in the ground, it will be subject to ageing. Furthermore, when a vehicle collides with the post, not only will a tilting motion be applied to the post, it will also be subject to a force in horizontal direction. As a result the cable may be urged against the upper edge of the passage in the foundation block and may be damaged and even break. The invention now aims at removing said disadvantages and provides to this end that the post has been made hollow and that within the post a coil spring has been placed the upper end of which is anchored to the post and the lower end to a virtually horizontally oriented plate that is part of the anchoring means, and which plate has been provided with a standing rim which has been fittingly inserted in the lower end of the post. The post may be constructed of metal as well as plastic material and can be considerably lighter than a post made of concrete, nonetheless possessing sufficient strength. Due to the rim attached to the anchoring means and to a small length inserted upward into the post, the post will not shift but will only be able to tilt when a horizontal force is exerted on the post. It has been found that use can be made of a coil spring the windings of which are accommodated close together and which allows for the windings still being adjoined in the mounted position of the post. Therefore, the spring need not actually be under pre-stress but only needs to be placed tightly against the attaching points. The spring being located completely above the anchoring means allows, if need be, for an easy replacement of the spring and of the post. The connection between the upper end of the spring and the post will in particular be achieved by a pin transversely brought into the post, which has been grasped by an eye-part of the coil spring and which pin has an approximate V-shape such that the spring will be drawn toward the centre of the V. As a result the upper end of the spring will always be located roughly in the middle of the post, also from the moment of the post being brought in a tilted position. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention it can be provided that, the anchoring means contains a tube, a rod attached to the outside thereof and winded in a spring-coil shape, some windings of which continue below the lower end of the tube, a receiving part mounted at the upper end of the tube for the sliding but not rotating accomodating of a clamping piece that with its upper end can be drawn against the plate by means of a bolt and therewith is wedged in the receiving part. In this respect it should be pointed out that anchoring a post in the ground with the use of a tube to be screwed into the ground, is known per se from EP-B-0 189 962. Due to the rod winded around the tube, the tube can be easily screwed into the ground without the need of digging a hole. For extracting the tube upwards from the ground a force of some hundreds of kilograms is required so that vandalism need not be feared. In order to facilitate screwing the tube into the ground, the upper end of the tube may be provided with a rectangular or square part which can be grasped by a tool. The rectangular part may be obtained in that the receiving part connected to the tube may be formed by a square tube the upper end of which projects above the tube. Here, the clamping piece may be formed by: a sleeve slidable in the receiving part, the upper end of which may adjoin the plate and the lower end has obliquely been cut off; a slidable but not rotatable threaded element accommodated in the receiving part which has been obliquely cut off at its upper end in order to adjoin the slanting lower part of the sleeve and which threaded element has been provided with a thread; and a bolt to be screwed into the threaded element, which extends upwards through the sleeve with ample clearance and which bolt rests with its head on the plate. In fastening the bolt the threaded element is drawn upwards so that the upper part of the sleeve is urged against the plate. Due to their slanting ends, the sleeve and the threaded element are moved sideways relatively to each other and are tightly drawn against the walls of the receiving part. As a result a fixed connection is obtained between the tube screwed into the ground and the plate connected to the post by means of the coil spring. An additional possibility is to provide the plate with, viewed in its operating position, downward flanged rims and with a length of tubing inserted in the same direction, which can be slid on to the receiving part connected to the tube. According to another embodiment of the invention it can be provided that the plate that is part of the anchoring means is connected to a downward directed tube or bar, which in its turn is connected to a partition roughly parallel to the plate. In general, said partition will have greater dimensions than the plate to which the coil spring has been secured and upon which the post rests. By filling the space between both plates with sand, a sufficiently firm anchoring of the post in the ground can be obtained so that extracting the post from the ground can be prevented. When securing the post it is in this case necessary to dig a hole in the ground that must be large enough to be able to allow passage to the partition. Of course this entails more work, and therefore costs, than when use is made of the aforementioned tube that is screwed into the ground. In certain city areas, however, cables and pipes may be situated so close beneath the street and side-walk surfaces that the application of screwing the tube into the ground involves too high risks. It has been found that in applying either anchoring means, the post can yield without causing damage to the anchoring means and the post. As a result, also the infliction of damage to a car accidentally colliding with it, is largely prevented. When, however, attempts are made to run over the post with a car, such post will tilt so far that it is drawn with considerable force against the underside or any other part of the car. The possibility then exists that the car is blocked and cannot drive on or retire. The invention will hereinafter be further explained, reference being made to the drawn embodiments, where: Fig. 1 shows a cross-section and partial elevational view of a post with anchoring means in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 shows an enlarged detail of fig. 1; and Fig. 3 shows a cross-section and partial elevational view of the post with a modified embodiment of the anchoring means. The post 1 shown in fig.1 has been provided with the anchoring means 2 comprising a tube 3 on which the rod 4 has been secured which has been helically wound such that some windings of the rod continue beneath the tube 3. In the upper end of the tube 3 the receiving part 5 has been fixed, consisting of a square tube which has been affixed in the tube 3 by welding. As has been shown in particular in fig. 2, in the receiving part 5 a clamping piece 6 has been accommodated consisting of a sleeve 7 the lower end 8 of which has been obliquely cut off, a threaded element 9 the upper end 10 of which has been obliquely cut off and a bolt 11 that has been screwed into the threaded element 9. The bolt 11 extends upwards and rests with its head on the plate 12 the rims 13 of which have been flanged downward. The plate 12 may for instance have the size of a paving-stone so that such a stone can be removed when securing the anchoring means in the ground. On the undersurface of the plate 12 a length of tubing 14 has been attached which can slide over the receiving part 5 when positioning the plate 12. By means of the bolt 11 the sleeve 7 can be drawn against the plate 12, whereupon the slanting sides 8 and 10 are drawn against each other and the parts 7 and 9 are sideways pressed apart and against the walls of the receiving part 5. As a result the plate 12 is secured in relation to the tube 3. On the upper surface of the plate 12 a ring-shaped rim 15 has been mounted which just fits inside the wall of the post 1. The rim 15 has been provided with a recess 16, so that upon slightly tilting the post 1 the bolt 11 can be turned. On the upper surface of the plate 12 there is likewise a support 17 which may be in the form of a bolt the head of which has been provided with an eye 18. In the eye 18 the one end of a coil spring 19 has been inserted, the other end of which has been secured to a pin 20 which is located inside the post and is somewhat V-shaped so that the spring 19 seeks the lowest point. The nut 21 may, prior to placing the plate 12, be screwed upon the bolt 17 to such an extent that the ends of the spring 19 are just closely accommodated against the eye 18 and the pin 20. In the position of the post 1, as shown in the drawing, the spring 19 is practically without tension. When, however, a lateral force is exerted on the post 1, the spring will resist the tilting of the post and will return the post to its original position when the force on the post is removed. Fig. 3 shows the possibility of the plate 12 being provided with a downward extended tube 22 the lower end of which is connected to a partition 23 with greater dimensions than the plate 12, which in its turn will have approximately the size of a paving-stone. The other parts applied correspond to those of the embodiment described hereinabove with reference to figs. 1 and 2. In this respect is should be pointed out that between the head of the bolt 17 and the plate 12 one or more washers 24 may be placed. The thickness of said washer or washers is selected such that with a tightened nut 21 the proper alignment of the ends of the coil spring 19 to the eye 18 and the pin 20 is obtained. In establishing the thickness of the washer or washers the tolerances in the dimensions of the various parts are allowed for. It will be clear that only a few possible embodiments of the device according to the invention have been represented in the drawing and described hereinabove, and that many modifications may be made without falling outside the scope of the claims.

Claims: Post (1) and means (2) to anchor it in the ground, for example to prevent the parking of vehicles, resilient means (19) being present between the anchoring means and the post (1) so that from the vertical position the post can bring about a certain angular displacement when a force in approximately horizontal direction is applied thereon, such as by a vehicle colliding with it, and the post will return from this position to its vertical position once the force on the post has been removed, characterized in that the post (1) has been made hollow and that within the post a coil spring (19) has been placed the upper end of which is anchored to the post and the lower end to a virtually horizontally oriented plate (12) that is part of the anchoring means (2), and which plate (12) has been provided with a standing rim (15) which has been fittingly inserted in the lower end of the post. Post as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that use is made of a coil spring (19) the windings of which are accommodated close together and which allows for the windings still being adjoined in the mounted position of the post (1). Post as claimed in claim 1 or 2 characterized in that the connection between the upper end of the spring (19) and the post (1) is achieved by a pin (20) transversely brought into the post (1), which has been grasped by an eye-part of the coil spring and which pin (20) has an approximate V-shape such that the spring will be drawn toward the centre of the V. Post as claimed in any of the preceding claims characterized in that , the anchoring means (2) contains a tube (3), a rod (4) attached to the outside thereof and winded in a spring-coil shape, some windings of which continue below the lower end of the tube (3), a receiving part (5) mounted at the upper end of the tube for the sliding but not rotating accomodating of a clamping piece (6) that with its upper end can be drawn against the plate (12) by means of a bolt (11) and therewith is wedged in the receiving part (5). Post as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the upper end of the tube (3) is provided with a rectangular or square part (5) which can be grasped by a tool. Post as claimed in any of the claims 4 - 6, characterized in that the rectangular part is obtained in that the receiving part (5) connected to the tube (3) is formed by a square tube the upper end of which projects above the tube (3). Post as claimed in any of the claims 4 - 6, characterized in that the clamping piece (6) may be formed by: a sleeve (7) slidable in the receiving part (5), the upper end of which may adjoin the plate (12) and the lower end (8) has obliquely been cut off; a slidable but not rotatable threaded element (9) accommodated in the receiving part (5) which has been obliquely cut off at its upper end (10) in order to adjoin the slanting lower part (8) of the sleeve (7) and which threaded element has been provided with a thread; and a bolt (11) to be screwed into the threaded element (9), which extends upwards through the sleeve (7) with ample clearance and which bolt (11) rests with its head on the plate (12). Post as claimed in any of the claims 1 - 3, characterized in that the plate (12) that is part of the anchoring means (2) is connected to a downward extended tube or bar (22), which in its turn is connected to a partition (23) roughly parallel to the plate.

Inventors: MINCK LODEWIJK PETRUS MARIA, MINCK, LODEWIJK PETRUS MARIA
Applicants: MINCK LODEWIJK PETRUS MARIA, MINCK, LODEWIJK PETRUS MARIA
Application year: 1994
Main classification: E01F9
IPC codes: E01F9, F16B7, E04H12